Lock safety device for door locks



April 28, 1959 WJLORENZO 2,

LOCK SAFETY DEVICE FOR DOOR LOCKS Filed Feb. 25, 1956' i INVENTIORM $157.5 WILSON LORENZO ATTORNEY United States Patent 0,

LOCK SAFETY DEVICE FOR DOOR LOCKS Wilson Lorenzo, New York, N.Y.

Application February 23, 1956, Serial No. 567,248

2 Claims. (Cl. 70-427) This invention relates to door attachments and, more particularly, has reference to a device for shielding the key-receiving aperture of a door lock, so as to prevent the insertion of a key into the lock by an unauthorized person.

The main object of the present invention is to provide a door attachment which can be secured to the surface of a door in such a way as to permit the device to extend completely over the keyhole of the door lock, the device when in this position being itself adapted to be locked, by means of a padlock or equivalent locking device.

Another object of importance is to provide a device as stated that will be capable of installation with speed and ease, and will be readily adapted for manufacture in various ornamental shapes, so as to match and seemingly be a part of the door hardware.

A further object is to facilitate the adjustment of the keyhole-covering portion of the device to an out-of-theway position, when the key is to be inserted in the keyhole.

Still another object is to provide a lock shield that will not require modification or redesign of a conventional door lock with which it is to be .associated, and further will not require removal of the usual door lock while the shielding device is being installed.

For further comprehension of the invention, and of the objects and advantages thereof, reference will be had to the following description and accompanying drawings, and to the appended claims in which the various novel features of the invention are more particularly set forth.

In the accompanying drawings forming a material part of this disclosure:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of a fragment of a door in a building wall equipped with a shielding attachment for shielding the keyhole in the door lock, embodying the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the shielding attachment in partially open position.

Fig. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the shielding attachment and door shown in Fig. l.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the plane of the line 44 of Fig. 3.

In the form of the invention shown in Fig. l, the device has been shown mounted on a door D hung in a door frame of a wall W. The door, as is usual, is provided with a knob and a lock 12 below the knob, the knob having a keyhole adapted to be covered or shielded by a door attachment 14 formed according to the present invention.

The keyhole-covering attachment 14 includes a flat, rectangular support plate 16 formed with a plurality of small apertures 18 disposed in an annular series about a large, circular opening 19 disposed substantially centrally of the plate 16. Lag screws 20 or equivalent fastening elements are extended through the apertures 18 and are engaged in the door with the lock 12 fitting snugly within the opening 19.

integrally formed upon each side edge of the plate 16 is a forwardly projecting, vertically extending flange 21. The flanges 34 have inwardly turned lips 34 providing trackways for a vertically slidable cover plate 22.

At its lower end, the support plate 14 has an integral, forwardly extending ear 36 formed with a small opening, and the cover plate also has a forwardly extending, .apertured ear 38 at its lower end. When the cover plate is slid downwardly, the ear 36 provides an abutment limiting further downward movement thereof beyond a position in which it covers the lock 12. With the apertures of the ears in register, the hasp of padlock 30 can be extended therethrough to lock the cover plate in place.

So that the cover plate 22 will be releasably held in an upwardly adjusted, lock-exposing position, a detent means is provided on the support plate, at one side thereof. This includes a leaf spring 40 anchored at one end by a rivet 42 to one of the flanges 34, near the upper end of the flange. Projecting inwardly from the free end of the leaf spring is a cylindrical pin 44 slidable in an opening 46. A knob or handle 48 on the upper end of the spring is used to shift the spring outwardly, to withdraw the pin 44 from an opening or recess 50 formed in the side of the cover plate near the lower end thereof.

When the cover plate is elevated, the pin 44 will slide along the edge of the cover plate and will ultimately engage in the recess to latch the cover plate in its raised position. Then when the cover plate is to be dropped, the detent is withdrawn, and the pin will slide along the edge of the cover plate. The hasp of the padlock may now be inserted, through the apertures of the ears 36, 38, to lock the cover plate over the lock 12.

While I have illustrated and described the preferred embodiment of my invention, it is to be understood that I do not limit myself to the precise constructions herein disclosed and that various changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by United States Letters Patent l. A lock-shielding attachment for a door comprising a support plate adapted to be fixedly connected to a door and having an opening for the lock of the door, a cover plate movably mounted on the support plate for adjustment to and from a position covering the lock, and means for locking the cover plate to the support plate in said position, said cover plate being slidably mounted on the support plate, the support plate having at opposite sides thereof opposed vertical guide flanges engaging opposite sides of the cover plate, said means comprising forwardly projecting integral ears on the support and cover plates having apertures registering in said position of the cover plate, and a padlock having a hasp extending through the apertures, the ear of the support plate extending as an abutment in the path of sliding movement of the cover plate, to limit movement of the cover plate beyond said position thereof.

2. A lock-shielding attachment for a door comprising a support plate adapted to be fixedly connected to a door and having an opening for the lock of the door, a cover plate movably mounted on the support plate for adjustment to and from a position covering the lock, means for limiting movement of the plate to lock covering position, and means for locking the cover plate to the support plate in said position, said cover plate being slidably mounted on the support plate, the support plate having at opposite sides thereof vertical guide flanges engaging opposite sides of the cover plate, the support plate including a detent and the cover plate having a recess receiving the detent in the lock-exposing position of the cover plate, to releasably hold the cover plate in said lock-exposing position thereof, the detent comprising a References Qiteul in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Girardot Ian. 11, 1916 A} Whitlock Jan. 13, 1920 Pat July 26, 1932 Hughes July 11, 1933 FOREIGN PATENTS Austria Sept. 10, 1909 Australia Oct. 5, 1951 Germany Aug. 28, 1924 

